


Fait Accompli

by ATrueDonaldist



Series: Klaus gets sober a bit quicker (thanks, Ben) [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Ben Hargreeves, BAMF Klaus Hargreeves, Ben & Klaus Bromance, Ben Hargreeves Deserves Better, Five's Name Is Aidan, Fix-It of Sorts, Focuses primarily on Ben and Klaus' relationship, Gen, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Minor Original Character(s), Not luther hargreeves friendly, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, The OC is a minor character, Yes i am bad at tagging forgive me, and gets a lot better, he gets a reality check, his sibs help him out, kind of?, theyre mostly there for comedic and plot purposes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-01-25 15:50:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18577642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATrueDonaldist/pseuds/ATrueDonaldist
Summary: "Fait Accompli", a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept it.Well, he thinks. Too bad he doesn't listen to little Girly god.-AKA, Klaus gets sober a bit quicker (thanks, Ben), Five is a little less socially-inept, and the world is a little kinder on the fourty-three kids born on that fateful day.-AAKA, Five (and Klaus) give a big fuck you to fate, and changes the timestream anyway (though, all according to Girly's plan).





	1. Let the Dead Bury their Dead

The ability to see ghosts, really, was more of a nuisance rather than a problem─or so he would tell anyone who would ask. Except for Ben (he knew anyway, the little fucker).

He'd lean on Klaus (after he finally reached sobriety and found that part of his power), and hum a song the medium would swear he’d heard in those clips of Broadway musicals they found on Youtube. He, of course, would grouse and mumble irritably about it, nevermind the fact that it usually did help to mute the screams of newborn ghouls as they tried to find themselves after death.

It was an improvement, really, and he’d calmly let the ghosty-goo know that they were dead─sending 'em off to whatever place they would go (another new ability he found in his sobriety) beyond the mortal plane.

He'd been clean for about two years, five months, and seven days. No, he wasn't counting─he blamed that on Ben. Ben who, like the dork he is, marked an anniversary on the day Klaus finally decided to get sober. For real.

It was also that same dork that had ushered Klaus to go out for waffles on last year's anniversary, that had been, admittedly, kind of nice. Especially the fact he had been able to talk to Ben without looking like he was schizophrenic or high─or occasionally both when he was accused of it by the more outspoken person.

This year though? Major highlight.

"Hey, Ben?" He calmly flicked through the twitter feed on his phone, lounging peacefully on the couch in his apartment. The referred to brother, currently laying down on the bed reading Harry Potter, flicked his foot lazily to show he was listening, instead of answering vocally like a normal brother should. Prick.

"Apparently, according to the news, 'ol daddy Hargreeves finally kicked the bucket. Yeesh, he couldn't even call us himself about that? What, did he forget one of his ‘children’ could talk to the dead or somethi-" He was interrupted abruptly by the sound of papers landing on a specific someone's face─plus the sound of spluttering. No one could prove he let out a loud snort of laughter at that moment, and he was going to keep it that way.

Barely minutes after the snorts of laughter subsided ( _Ben, I will take away your reading rights for a week if you tell anyone_ ), they'd both settled back down on the couch to read through the article that reported the news. Somehow, someway, Sir Reginald Hargreeves was a victim of a nice, friendly heart-attack; one of natural causes. Talk about anti-climactic.

"You know, I always figured the old man would've kicked it because of some supernatural occurrence. He didn't deserve a wholesome, natural death." The comment was offhanded at best, though the frown on Ben's face had him peering curiously at him before he spoke.

"There were no other causes? None at all?"

And, admittedly, he could see the reason Ben was so skeptical about it. _Sir Reginald Hargreeves,_ certified bastard of a father and billionaire, dead by a _heart-attack_ of all things? And he didn't go kicking and screaming about it? It was a little suspicious, sure, but does it really matter? Ding dong, the bastard's dead!

"Look, Hargreeves is dead, we're still alive─ah, sorry Ben." Ben merely rolled his eyes; it'd been a long time since he'd been hurt by death jokes. "But you know what I mean. We're semi-functional and only eighty percent codependent on each other. Probably." He offered Ben a wide smile, one that the other boy couldn't help but return in amusement. The moment was abruptly halted though when Britney Spear’s “Toxic” came blasting from Klaus’ cell, shocking them both.

The phone, promptly fumbled between the two of them, was thankfully saved when Ben finally gave mercy on the situation and answered it, letting Klaus finally grab it.

"Yellow?"

"Klaus, is that you?" Oh, and that was Allison's sweet voice coming through the speaker─yikes. What had it been, about seven years since her wedding? And eight months since the divorce? Yeah, yikes. Condolences.

He plastered on a smile and gave Ben a look of "don't say anything" before answering. "Yeeeeep! Although, I'd have to check with Benny here─say, Benny boy, am I one fabulous being known as Klaus Hargreeves?" He put his hand over the receiver and gave Ben a faux confused and questioning look. He may have sounded a bit... well, high─but the spark of laughter and amusement in Ben's eyes were worth it, in his opinion. A sigh, however, filtered through the phone along with a muttered "of course", which made his own smile falter slightly; though it was fixed in a second.

"Anyways, sister dear, I do so believe that it is I, the fabulous─no, _fantabulous_ Klaus. Whatever do you need on this joyous day, sister?" exasperated amusement could only describe the noise that filtered through the phone before Allison answered.

"Did you see the news about Dad's death?" Ah, and so straight to the point.

"Yes indeedy─I saw the 'ol geezer on the news. Who knew he could have died so naturally? I thought he was an alien or somethin', was just gonna hang onto life forever." He observed his fingernails, painted by one eldritch portal brother, and gave a smaller, more genuine smile when his sister's huffy laugh came through.

He'd always preferred her softer laughs in youth─they always felt more genuine with a kinder undertone, instead of the ones she gave to the relentless media. Ones that, he recalled, became rarer as they grew.

They talked for a little bit more, about how she'd been doing, about her life (he'd given his condolences about her divorce, only a little saddened at the surprise in her voice when she asked how he knew) before she finally broached the topic he knew she called him for. The funeral.

"Listen, Klaus─the funeral is tomorrow, according to Pogo. Everyone said they're going to be there, so... I hope you can too." It came out more genuine than her words did during the first few minutes of the call, so he gave a forced smile that she couldn't see and said, "Of course, I'll be there in a jiffy─maybe earlier than you so I can finally raid that fashion disaster of a closet you had as a teenager!"

And the look Ben gave him of tense worry is totally not justified when the smile on Allison's face could be heard through the phone as she told him "thank you" and hung up. Yeesh.

The moment of silence after he put down the phone was too thick─so thick, he could’ve sliced it with a knife. _You know, that actually sounds really good right now, buttered toast-_

"You're going to regret this." Is the comment that escapes Ben’s mouth. He just gave a silly smile in response.

"...Yea, yea, I know, but first? Buttered toast."

* * *

 

It's eight in the morning, and Klaus already regretted this decision.

"Home sweet home, I guess?" Is the statement Klaus offered to Ben as they stepped out of the car (Ben learned how to drive from Diego before he died, so he taught Klaus after he got sober. Wow, miracles do happen).

Ben merely gave a shrug as he looked over the mansion, the twitch of his lips downwards showing his displeasure quite clearly at the act of returning to said mansion. “I used to think that this place would have a happier feeling if Hargreeves ever died. Guess that wasn’t the case.”

The manor itself looked impeccably untouched, without a speck of dust to even suggest it was probably decades old. The same stuffy, kind of morbid feeling remained long after they actually entered the manor, and Pogo, upon greeting them, gave a nod of his head before setting off. Possibly to mourn on his own.

While the mansion itself was never overrun by ghosts, it always had that tense feeling to it. He'd always expected to see one popping out of a corner as a child─the expectation, the weariness, the fear. All of their childhoods were absolute hell, and the nostalgia, while there, was kind of just a detour off the main path, rather than a nice memory. So, Klaus trudged his way up to their bedrooms, ignoring the feeling of dread that curled in his stomach each time he turned a corner, expecting anything to creep out.

...he’d kind of expected the man himself to manifest.

"Klaus," and wow, he hoped Ben didn't see his spine jolt as he turned around looking like a deer caught in headlights.

He cleared his throat, his lips resting on a slight grin as he spoke. "Yes, darling brother of mine?" he paused though, as Ben merely opened the door to his─Number Six's─room and left it slightly ajar. It was a quiet, definitely _Ben_ -like offer for him to come in. Still, he looked around once more and eyed the dark corners before obediently following Ben into the room, taking a breath.

Ben's room had been untouched since the day he died. It wasn’t new information─but it still was like a punch to the gut every time he saw it. The bed was made, shelves clean of any dust or prints─books were organized neatly. Small knick-knacks Ben had collected over the years before his death were set neatly on the desk he used to study and read at. Like he had never left.

Well, to be fair, he really hadn’t, Klaus noted with some amusement. He’d been on Klaus’ ass since day one until he finally broke through his stubborn drug-induced hellscape and persuaded him to stay sober─and efficiently kept at it, should he ever relapse. Though, he had no intentions of letting go of sobriety this time around, considering he could now wish away ghosts when he pleased─and could make Ben corporeal.

Hell, after he got to one month of swearing off his high for good, Ben had actually started to _sing_ again, like he used to when they had been kids. He hadn’t _sung_ anything since he died, and Klaus would be lying if he said that wasn’t worth getting clean for.

Getting off of memory lane, he threw a cautious look at Ben’s face, examining the expression of ruefulness on it. It wasn’t explicitly sorrowful, but rather a look of sad nostalgia… one a person could give a bitter-sweet smile to.

They stood there for a few minutes more before Klaus nudged Ben lightly. “You know… if there’s anything you wanted from here, you could, y’know, take it back to our apartment,” he said nonchalantly, promptly ignoring the wet smile Ben gave him.

“...Yea, thanks.”

Take that, dysfunctional-family dynamic.

* * *

 

An hour had passed as they each sorted through the many items in Six’s room. Ben managed to snag a few books he hadn't finished before he died, and after they had finished reminiscing, they went along their merry way─right into Hargreeves' study. Joy.

The door, surprisingly, was left slightly ajar─possibly because Pogo or Mom had entered previously, and the mischievous smile that bloomed on Klaus’ face was permission enough for them to enter the room. Geezer was dead, why not? There might be some neat little toys they could pawn off for rent money and books─though they'd probably both be lying if they said they weren't slightly curious about what their father had in his study, so long boarded off from them.

The study was, like Ben's room, seemingly untouched. Various items cluttered the shelves and walls─victorian like pictures, paintings, etcetera. A normal movie-like study with a super genius and all that crap, just begging to be taken. Should he feel remorse about stealing stuff from his adopted father's study? Probably.

Does he?

Nah.

Klaus crossed the room immediately to dig into Hargreeves' drawers─there had to be _something_ in there of value, after all. Hell, maybe he'd be able to find that journal he seemed to be writing in all that ti- "Woah."

Ben, still by the door (being a good lookout), gave him a concerned look as he took out a blue box bedazzled by pearls. It looked to be rather expensive if the jewelry on the damned thing was any indication─but it was dropped immediately in favour of the book─no, a journal. He opened it and started to flip through, the look of surprise melting into one of curious worry, and if Klaus was worried, something was wrong.

"Klaus?"

Klaus, finally blinking out of his reading stupor, frowned as he closed the book again. It had been almost completely about _Vanya._ Vanya, who didn't have any powers, and was apparently being _tested_ on? _What the fuck?_ He knew Hargreeves was messed up, but, something about this was _wrong_.

_Why would he write this, in such a fancy looking set-up? And on that note, there were all kinds of papers strewn in these drawers, so what else─_

"Klaus!"

_Ah._

"Yes, Benji?" he gave a sweet smile, though was cut off by Ben's frantic gesturing. "Someone's coming," he whisper-hissed, just as the footsteps beyond the door grew louder. Oh, yea, right─getting caught looking at stuff in his father's office right after his death? _Probably_ not the best idea.

"Oh, fuck, uh-" he fumbled around with the book in his hands and closed the drawer with his leg. Ben, now becoming incorporeal so he could yell louder at Klaus ( _...traitor_ ), gestured at the book. "Get rid of it! Uh, use your instincts!"

Instincts? Right, right, he can do instincts─trust his instincts!

The book went soaring out the window.

Instincts bad.

In any other case, this would have been funny─and he couldn't help but giggle helplessly as Ben slumped into a dejected stance.

"You know, if I wasn't a part of it, I would have never believed you were trained to be a hero that thought on their feet," Ben deadpanned, just as Allison opened the door, looking at Klaus with a surprised look on her face. "Klaus? What are you doing in here?"

"Ah, y'know- just... looking around the 'ol office daddio never seemed to leave," he groused, before walking around the desk and offering his arms up for a hug. "C'mere!"

She shook her head in fond amusement before crossing the room in order to receive said hug─before they both stepped out of it. The silence was actually quite comfortable as both of them looked around the room. Since Klaus had barely touched it, everything in the room was, as before, untouched. He paused for a second, and opened his mouth.

"I came down here to prove to myself that the old man really is dead... and is he ever!" He gave a cheeky grin as he twirled to gesture at the whole room. "Know how I know? Because if he were alive, not one of us would be allowed to set foot in this room,” he lifted his foot in example and touched the carpet like it was cold water, relishing in the giggle Allison finally let out at Klaus’ actions. Totally worth it.

With a hardly elegant leap, he propped himself up onto the desk and gave himself a real imposing stance, watching how Ben rolled his eyes fondly and Allison’s giggles turned into full-blown laughter. “Remember how he used to look at us? That scowl? Thank Christ he’s not our real father so we couldn’t inherit those cold, dead eyes!” He grinned as he leaned forward with an obviously fake deep voice, pointing at Allison. “ _Number Three_.”

 _That_ seemed to finally get her to snort in her laughter, letting Klaus finally relax against his perch on the desk. _Yea_ , he smiled, _if there’s one thing I didn’t miss, it’s this._ And who could blame him?  
“Get off of the desk, Klaus.” Oh. He stands corrected, there _is_ someone that would blame him.

“Oh wow, Luther,” and if his grin was slightly faked, only Ben could call him out on it. “Wow, man. You uh, you really filled yourself out over the years, huh? I didn’t realize the moon had a gym─”

“Number Four.” it was said in that same, stern way Hargreeves had said it once─and that wasn’t fair of Luther, really.

A hand reached itself out and patted Luther on the shoulder, pushing him down from whatever mental high-ground he wanted to put himself on. “Luther, it’s okay. He wasn’t doing anything, promise.” Allison wiped a tear from her eye as she looked at Luther, smiling brightly. “We should talk, it’s been a while.” and _oh_ , she’s totally giving Klaus an out right now─he definitely was going to have to make it up to her.

“And on that note, I’m gone! You two can talk amongst yourselves!” He was already halfway out the door as he said it, and zipped out once he finished. The breath of relief that escaped him was not shaky, _Ben, shut up._

His ghost brother simply sighed and helped pull him from the office back up to what looked to be Allison’s room, smiling softly as he watched him sift through the clothing with actual interest. It seemed to dawn on him, however, that Klaus had forgone the book from the study entirely. “Klaus, what was that book?”

Klaus’ hands stilled from the folded and boxed clothing as he tilted his head back in silent contemplation. The book, from what he read, was just a lot of analytics, tests, and little notes. Nothing that explicitly _told_ him anything, but… “It was nothing, Ben.”

The ghost huffed slightly as Klaus continued to surf through the cloth, not willing to push anymore. The fact he trusted him enough for that was good enough for him.

* * *

 

Not too long after the office scene, team leader Number One decided to call a family meeting, for some reason.

“Alright, listen up.” The meeting, in Klaus’ humble opinion, was completely useless, considering that half of them weren’t paying attention, and he himself was far too enamored with the skirt he found in Allison’s closet (that she graciously allowed him to keep. Darn, now he owes her two things).

“There are some important things we need to discuss, all right?” The hulking man paced around the middle of the floor, ignoring how Diego tensed in his position, eyes narrowing.

“Like what?” he asked quietly (and man, he’s seriously sporting the spandex and dagger combo. Yikes).

“Like the way he died,” Luther shot the vigilante a sharp look when he scoffed, a sneer curling his lips. “Oh, here we go again,” he spat, waving off Luther’s statement.

“I don’t understand,” and that came from Vanya, ah, sweet Vanya. She’d always been the quiet one (besides Ben), always subservient to Hargreeves, and always… well, quiet. The days they spent huddled together, talking, playing─it felt so long ago. The years seemed to have only gotten harsher on her, judging on her posture now, and the little twinge of guilt that remained in his chest grew (The three of them, Klaus, Ben, and Five were the only ones that played with her─but then Five disappeared, Ben died, and Klaus was too high to care anymore).

“I thought… I thought they said it was a heart attack,” she said slowly, eyes darting between an increasingly agitated Diego and a stern looking Luther, leaning back in confusion.

The latter sighed and looked up like responding was a hassle. “According to the coroner,” he finally answered.

“Well, wouldn’t they know?”

“...Theoretically.” and _that_ seemed to catch Allison’s attention.

"Theoretically?” her voice was just short of demanding, as she leaned forward to narrow her eyes at Luther.

“I’m just saying that, at the very least, something happened,” he raised his hands to placate Allison and Diego. “The last time I talked to Dad, he sounded… strange.”

“Strange? Strange how?”

“He told me I should be careful who I trust.”

Diego (seemingly done with looking up at the ceiling like it had personally offended him), let out a sigh through his nose, eyeing Luther. “Dad was a paranoid, bitter, old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles,” he stated, and, well, Klaus could argue that Hargreeves lost his marbles a long time ago, but that probably wasn’t the most useful thing to say right now.

“No, he must have known something was going to happen,” Luther insisted before he turned to Klaus, the aura of “number one” flowing through rather horribly. “Klaus, I need you to summon Dad.”

And he needed him to summon Dad, right, because he’s just a telephone that can talk to the dead whenever it was convenian─

Wait. What?

“You want me to what?” his mouth dropped open as he openly regarded Luther with an actual honest-to-god look of confusion. “Years of having to deal with his bullshit, being finally free for the first time─and you want me to bring him _back?_ ” It had only been a little hysteric, he would reflect later with satisfaction─still, the utterly blank look on Luther’s face drove the disbelief home

“You can’t be serious,” he blanched, watching as Luther just sighed deeply and turned back to the rest of the team, with that disappointed look (the same one Hargreeves gave him, and he’s getting so tired of it), and suddenly, it clicks.

His sudden rise from the couch seemed to shock both Allison and Vanya, though Diego remained stoically still. “You’re crazy. You’re actually insane.” he picked up his jacket and stalked his way to the exit, not bothering to look back to see if his siblings had caught on yet.

He paused just before the open door. “If you think one of us killed Hargreeves, you’re wrong.”

If the room had been quiet before, now it was silent enough to hear the creaking of the walls; the pressure akin to a teakettle about to scream. He walked through the open doors and slid them close, the only thing left behind being the outcry of sound that threatened to burst through the delicately carved brown doors and his own heart pounding in his chest.


	2. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To leave things as they are; especially, to avoid restarting or rekindling an old argument; to leave disagreements in the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, the last part of the chapter is a bit iffy I'm sure- but I hope you guys like it!  
> I'd like to thank all of you for sticking with me with this, leaving comments and kudos- it makes my heart so much lighter. I'm glad you guys enjoy it so much and hope you stick around for more!

His brisk, incredulously irritated walk somehow ended with him in the courtyard that contained Six’s statue, the clouds overhead overcast and dark.

He couldn’t really say what lead him here─what did they call it, fate? Destiny?  _ Bah.  _ He’d call it his own nagging need to be away from his siblings, where they wouldn’t think to find him (by the grave of his brother, that he never “rightly” mourned, which was stupid, by the way. Why mourn a person when they decided to cling onto your ass and make you sober even when you didn’t want to be?). 

The aforementioned brother, who had stood quietly next to him in the swampy grass, spoke suddenly.

“Have I ever told you how much I hated this statue?” he inquired quietly, poking at the bronze metal. Klaus blinked and gave him a curious look, while Ben simply shrugged. 

“It doesn’t look like me,” he pointed out, before kicking the statue’s foot and jolting slightly at the hollow metal sound that rang out in the air, followed by Klaus’ choked laugh.

Looking at his brother now, he would be right. He looked nothing like the stoic statue, young, innocent, simple and pale─but he would argue that the person the statue was modeled after had captured his likeness impeccably.

A distinct memory reemerged in his mind of Number Six and Number One being somewhat similar; loyal to their father and wanting to please him in any way that they could.

He remembered Six wanting to be more like One, to be more confident, to be more heroic, to be better at giving orders, to be more of what Hargreeves wanted, to be enough─

He remembered Hargreeves sending Six to a mission he wouldn’t come back from, because of his want to be like Luther, to be “perfect”.

He remembered Six wanting to be loved by his father. Just like how he “loved” Luther.

A huff of a laugh escaped his throat.

_ Number Six, “The Horror”, deceased _ , stated the plaque on the base of the statue. It’s not a sad thought, because it was  _ right _ .

The statue looked nothing like his pain in the ass brother with his smart-aleck comments, his casual clothing, and his willingness to punch his own adopted kin in order to get him sober.

No, rather, the statue had  _ nothing _ on the person his brother became.

The day Number 00.06 died, Ben was born─and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

* * *

 

The duo stood out in the courtyard for what was probably an hour or two more, to simply let Klaus’ emotions cool down from the strain they went through. When they had done so fully, he sent a beaming smile towards his floating ghost compadre.

“Why don’t we go inside and see if I can burn some books for you so you can finally read ‘em?” He offered lightly, a flicker of mischievous humour in his voice.

The conflicted mixture of horror and amusement flickering on Ben’s face was enough to have Klaus giggling like one of those anime schoolgirls, clutching at his stomach as he ran out of breath. “T-The, the look on your─snrrk, f-fahahace, haha!”

He was shot a look that was more amused than horrified this time, and wiped the moisture from one eye. Oh, how he loved to mess with his family. He started to move forward, when─

_ CRACKOOM. _

He took a sharp step back towards the door to the manor when an electric blue crack made a loud, thundering noise that flickered all the visible lights in the mansion, his own flare of humour fading while Ben instinctively took place between the threat and Klaus.  
Now, normally he would completely and utterly whine about the treatment of being weak─but the situation definitely was more up Ben’s alley the more he thought about it.

_ I was always the real twink of the family honestly, and Ben was always better at hand-to-hand than I ever was so it really makes sense, and oh, wait, I’m getting distracted─ _

He opened his mouth to call Ben back (he wasn’t corporeal right now after all) but was cut off by Allison’s shout that came from behind him, alerting him that the rest of his family had entered the courtyard.

One and Two pushed themselves to the front, the latter sending a deadpan look at her.

“Yea, no shit!” He paused before turning to look back at the much larger portal-looking-thing, frowning deeply as he and Luther shielded the girls behind them (ignoring their third brother. Typical).

“It looks sort of like… a temporal rift? Or a miniature black hole─ one of the two." God, he wished Five was here─he actually had a  _ brain cell _ .

“Those are two pretty different things, Diego!” Klaus hissed lightly as the portal burst out in another flash of blue sparks, warping in on itself. Hell, it almost looked like someone was beyond the portal─

Luther abruptly grabbed Klaus and dragged him behind himself. “Everyone get behind me!”

The vigilante to the side of him growled lowly, sending an irritated look in Luther’s direction.

“Yea, get behind _ us _ .” And really, this was not the time for way-too-old rivalries to affect their life-expectancy.

“I, for one, vote for running?” His voice was lost to the wind as the person in the portal visibly tried pushing through, and just as the blue seemed to brighten─

It abruptly stopped.

The thunder died down along with the wind, blue fading immediately as if it had never been there.

_ Jeez, there was so much wind, that even the clouds are moving faster... wait a sec. _

There was… a kid? Yea, a kid where the portal was, slowly standing up from their spot on the floor. The rest of the group slowly watched as the child stood. He was maybe thirteen or fourteen, looking a bit worse for wear but mostly okay, and probably an alien, but he looked kinda familiar─

“Five.” That was Ben, but he wouldn’t say that the kid looked like he was five─

Oh.

“Is… is it just me, or does anyone else see Five, our long lost brother?” And if the words were a bit shaky, no one commented on it.

Five (just thinking about Five again made him all kinds of weird-y, because oh my god he’s  _ back _ ) looked around at them, and then at himself, a typical Five-y grimace erupting on his face.

“Shit.”

Hah, what a mood.

* * *

 

All of them trailed after Five like little ducklings following their mother, no one saying a word, simply watching him move and breathe and god, they were weird, but he was  _ alive _ . And seemed to remember most of the twists and turns of the mansion, because he lead them straight to the suddenly kind of small pantry area that held─

“Ohhh, gross man, you still like that?” Klaus, breaking out of his reverie, blanched as his (little?) brother barely sent a glance in his direction; picking up bread, marshmallows, and peanut-butter, presumably to make his weird-sandwich creation. Eugh.

His words though did seem to shock Vanya out of her own silence as she snatched the materials out of Five’s hands and set off to make it herself, a sort of determined look settled on her face. 

Five seemed to just accept it in stride, simply sitting down at one of the chairs and looking at all of them with an unreadable look, causing most of them to shift uncomfortably. You’d think that they’d all be hugging and crying and all that shit, but it just felt  _ off _ .

How do you look someone in the eye, knowing you thought they were dead for the past─what was it, sixteen, seventeen years? What do you even  _ say _ to that?

The silence lasted far longer than it should have, Five staring at each of them and they back at him before Vanya pushed the finished sandwich towards Five─the same way she had been making them for years.

She was rewarded (shockingly) by a soft smile that graced his face, (okay, he actually  _ smiled _ . Definitely, a sign that this wasn’t the Five that disappeared from their lives when they were thirteen) that was returned by Vanya.

With that, he turned back to the group, eyes hardened once more.

“What’s the date, exactly?” That, thankfully, was a bit more like Five; straight to the point of whatever topic he was on without giving a thought to put context for those around him. It brought back a sense of normality to the situation, at the least.

When it became apparent no one else was going to answer him, the rip-off ouija board gave a dramatic sigh and looked up from his spot next to the wall.

“It’s the twenty-fourth of March." He gestured at the newspaper on the table just in front of Allison, tilting his head back towards their thirteen(?) year old brother with a clear question on his face. “Why do ya needa know, Five-y?”

The nickname got him an annoyed glare, but was dropped quickly.

“That’s… a relief. Definitely messed up some calculations, but I can work with it." He snatched the newspaper and read it over quickly, either oblivious to or simply ignoring the looks the rest of the siblings sent each other.

In the end, it was Vanya who finally raised the question they were all thinking.

“Where did you go, over these seventeen years?” Her voice was soft-spoken with an undertone of hurt, enough so that when Klaus looks at Five’s face, there’s an emotion that breaks through his unreadable gaze.

Regret.

“I..." The brunette’s voice was just as soft, even a little feeble. The glance sent towards Vanya was quickly shifted, uncomfortable in the silence. He slid off the chair and stepped away from the group, taking a breath and letting it go; the pattern continuing until he turned back around, face steeled in determination.

“The day I left, in 2002─I traveled to the future. It’s shit, by the way." He twirled a finger, having finished off his sandwich. “It’s been forty-five years since that day.”

You could say a million other things, and it would have made a bit more sense. Getting lost halfway across the world? Fine. Teleporting to some lost civilization?  _ Sure _ . Yet somehow, this was the thing that left them speechless.

They wouldn’t peg Five as a liar─on the contrary, out of all of them, he was (used to be?) the most brutally honest. It didn’t make the news any less jarring, however, and from the looks of both Luther and Diego’s faces, they were having a hard time buying it. Klaus combed his hair with his hand and sighed.

“So… the world really went to shit then, huh? Called it.” Vanya and Ben (Allison’s mouth twitched) were the only ones that cracked a smile at his attempt at lightening the mood, so he considered that a success. Five, on the other hand, merely gave a shrug─carefully avoiding the statement, he noticed. “You could say that, yea.”

He looked like he wanted to say something more, but seemed to think better of it and stood─shouldering past Luther to leave the room. The subdued, almost dismissive action left all of them in varying stages of confusion, Vanya breaking out of the stupor first in order to follow Five out of the room, barely avoiding collision with Pogo, who had just entered.

He exchanged a look with Vanya, letting her leave when she inclined her head and turned to look at the remaining group.

“Children, we are spreading Sir Hargreeves’ ashes outside in about an hour. Please prepare yourselves.” Pogo didn’t seem necessarily surprised or disappointed by the lack of motion in the group, and simply left once his message was passed on.

It seemed to set everyone in motion though, and, one by one, each of the original Umbrella Academy members shuffled out─almost ironically in the same order they left the manor, their childhoods, their home.

Klaus shared a look with Ben, grim and light, before they left as well.

* * *

 

“Glad to know Hargreeves didn’t forget about me.”

The sound of Five’s voice made him and Ben stop in their tracks, just before the doorway to the living room. They had been on their way to reach the courtyard for the ceremony since it was almost time and didn’t expect to hear a voice from inside the manor; a flicker of curiosity settled in his chest as he settled himself against the wall, winking at Ben and straining his ears to listen in on whoever Five seemed to be conversing with.

“I read your book, by the way.” Book? Ah, it must be Vanya in there with him.

“Found it in a library that was still standing. Thought it was pretty good, all things considered…” There were footsteps, possibly either Five or Vanya moving closer to something.

“Definitely ballsy, giving up the family secrets. I’m sure it didn’t end well.”

The pause was enough for Vanya to speak, her voice still that meek, saddened tone that made Klaus want to drape her in a hug (and he knew Ben did too).

“They hate me.”

Oh, and wasn’t that a shot to his chest. It was true that when he had read the book she had written, he had been less than amused by it─but he could never  _ hate _ his little sister (nevermind they were the same age). It had just left a slightly negative connotation of him even after two years of being sober is all; and even then, her book had been right on point up until then, so she wasn’t  _ lying _ .

His chapter though was, still, relatively short─Ben’s even shorter (“went easy on the dead guy,” Ben had snarked when he read his own page─Klaus had to cover up his laughter with a cough at rehab). He had suspected that this was because of the friendship they all had as children, but he had never gone to visit Vanya in those years, so he was unable to confirm it.

“...there are worse things that could happen.”

There was the sound of shuffling again, this time sounding like Vanya wrapping her arms around herself.

“Like what happened with Ben?”

A beat.

“...was it bad?”

The silence that permeated the atmosphere answered his query better than words ever could.

An uncomfortable silence was all that was left of the conversation, empty space filling all the words that couldn’t be said. Just as the duo beyond the door felt they had overstayed their self-appointed welcome, Vanya called out.

“Five.”

Whatever movement she made seemed to stop Five from speaking, a kind of curious air following the quiet.

“Ben, he… when you disappeared, Klaus, Ben, and I─I mean, when you disappeared, and we got our names…” Her words were fumbled, hesitant, but the two brothers outside felt a memory click.

“We… we wanted to find a name for you, so you had one when you came back. Ben picked one that we all agreed on, and… well, you… you’re finally home,” her voice slowly became stronger and echoed slightly in the hall. 

“Do… do you want to know what it was?”

 

Truthfully, Klaus had forgotten the nights spent looking at baby name books stolen from the library with Vanya and Six─and from the dawning realization on Ben’s face, it was safe to say he had as well. Hours were spent pouring over name meanings, where they came from, which one would fit Five well─ until Six found one that just felt  _ right.  _ All three of them agreed and had held onto the hope that Five would return.

The weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Their held hope, while faint, was still there.

Then Six died.

Klaus, subsequently, fell prey to drugs and alcohol─and left Vanya alone in that hope.

 

“...Yea.” Maybe it had been seventeen years since they saw their brother, but Klaus would always be able to tell when there was forced nonchalance in his voice. It was… almost funny.

The cheshire-cat grin he sent Ben’s way was reciprocated by a roll of his eyes.

Vanya, after a second to prepare herself, spoke softly. “Aiden.”

They had all thought it was fitting. When they chose it, it was after hours upon hours of looking up their own as well. The question of "why this name for Four?" and "what does Seven's name mean?" were all at the forefront if their minds─still, when they had stumbled across the name Aiden (Four and Seven had glanced at it once and let it be, but Six had actually looked at it), it felt  _ right _ . Would they have been punched for it? Probably. But it seemed like a good idea at the time.

He was brought back to the present by the small noise of curious admittance from Five, which had Ben shoving his hands into his jacket pockets a tad nervously. Five as a child had always been very critical, though it definitely seemed as though the forty-five years he spent in the future mellowed him out a bit.

“Aiden.” It was spoken with an odd, short tone, like a child speaking a foreign word for the first time; fumbled, straight. Another tense pause was left in the midst of the name, enough so that when Five spoke again, Klaus swore he jumped a little.

“...thank you, Vanya.” it sounded completely genuine─so much so, that Klaus let out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding in. It was… a relief, to hear that Five seemed to accept the name they had chosen for him so long ago.

Ben nudged him lightly, the message obvious to get moving and to stop eavesdropping on the moment the two siblings inside were sharing. He just smirked and nudged back, whispering, “I know you’re glad he liked the name, Benihana.”

The flushed glare (despite being dead) Ben sent him had him snickering all the way to the entrance of the courtyard, mood finally lightened in light of the events.

* * *

 

When they all arrived to spread Hargreeves’ ashes, it was raining─unfortunately fitting for a ceremony of this type, despite the fact the man whose ashes they were spreading didn’t deserve the picturesque moment.

Diego, the only one without an umbrella, stood by Mom’s side─whispering to help ease her confusion. Klaus never had the closest connection with their assigned mother─not like Diego had, at least. Where Number Two found comfort in an adult figure, he had it in their ragtag group, Four, Five, Six, Seven; while One and Two found it in their bond.

Hargreeves always split them up when he could, on missions─except for when a certain pair was necessary. He had never accounted for Five teleporting himself outside Vanya’s room to let himself in late at night, where Klaus and Ben were already on the bed with her playing a pack of cards Five had picked up at a thrift store one day.

He had never accounted for the bond they would share, even after its links broke down and all that was left were bare emotions and radio silence across the board, because he was an emotionally dead human being (still betting he’s an alien) that probably would have burned the house down if he ever took care of any other child outside the Umbrella Academy.

Was he bitter?

Yea, just a little bit. But he’s pretty sure that the others (excluding Luther) were a bit bitter too. Ben had made a promise to punch Hargreeves if he ever decided to manifest himself, and then while he was reeling in the pain, Klaus would send him off to whatever goddamned place he believed in and be rid of him forever. Hallelujah.

 

Now, if only the fucker would show up.

 

When no one spoke, Luther, having been the one that wanted to spread Hargreeve’s ashes, stood in the middle of the courtyard. He tipped the jar, watching, along with everyone else, as they clumped onto the floor. Yikes.

“Probably… would have been better with a bit of wind.” One shuffled his hands as he set down the jar, and honestly, it was a whole mess, so when Pogo asked “Does anyone wish to speak” Was it any surprise no one really wanted to say anything?

Apparently, it wasn’t, because Pogo seemed to accept it and moved on, though he looked a bit sad. “Very well. In all regards, Sir Reginald Hargreeves made me what I am today. For that alone, I shall forever be in his debt.”

It’s… well, he’s not wrong. He was a science experiment Hargreeves tested and fucked around with until Pogo came out, disgustingly loyal, even when he was torturing the children he had bought off their mothers─kind and gentle when interacting with them, but unwilling to stop their “punishments”, even as they screamed for it to stop.

Did he say he was bitter?

“He was my master, and my friend, and I shall miss him very much. He leaves behind a complicated legacy─”

“He was a monster.” The words were spat from Diego’s mouth with a vehemence he usually reserved for the worst of criminals, painting easily how much their brother truly hated the man. His hands seemed to tighten lightly on Mom’s arm, as he looked away.

“He was a bad person and a worse father… the world’s better off without him.”

“Diego─”

“ _ My name is Number Two. _ You know why?” He cast a sweeping glance at all of them, eyes pooling with anger.

“Because our father couldn’t be bothered enough to give us actual names─he had  _ Mom _ do it.”

He faltered slightly, as Mom looked around with wide eyes, a painted on smile aimed at them all.

“Would anyone like something to eat?” And there was something akin to sadness in Diego’s eyes as he ushered her to the side gently, smiling at her and saying, “No, Mom, it’s okay.”

Vanya seemed to edge a bit closer to her as well, while Diego stepped away and gestured at the ashes at their feet.

“Look. You want to pay your respects? Go ahead. But at least be honest about the kind of man he was.”

Now, to Klaus (and probably Ben) that sounded perfectly reasonable. Hell, it sounded almost  _ polite _ coming from Diego, considering his feelings on the billionaire─

“You should stop talking now.” Fuck.

If this continued on the train track it’s on, it would inevitably end with either one of them dead, or Six’s statue being toppled over─and Klaus didn't necessarily want either of those to happen, so he tossed his pink umbrella to Five (who lets it drop to the mucky floor like a good brother he was), and got in between the two, a placating smile on his face as he waved his “hello” hand at Luther, and his “goodbye” hand at Diego. 

“Now now kiddos, while I would love to see you two hit each other─I don’t think that’s good for your health, or Six’s memorial here.” He paused, looking down at the floor for a moment. 

“Though, do feel free to step on the ashes whenever you prefer─Maybe the geezer will start to haunt one of you since you have his remains on your feet.”

Probably not the right thing to say at that moment, if Ben’s look of horror was any testament, because Diego started to make taunting noises behind Klaus’ back towards Luther, and the blonde was starting to get more agitated─leading to Luther shooting out his arm and shoving him (just a bit too hard) towards the statue, effectively causing him to slam back first into the base of the memorial. 

“Klaus!” That was Ben and Allison somehow simultaneously (ah, sibling bonding beyond death), with Allison rushing to stop the two alpha males of the group from fighting more, and Ben rushing over to his side, frantically calling his name.

He choked out a cough and rubbed at his (badly bruised now) back, wincing, but no worse for wear. Luther’s shove had been (for him) fairly light compared to what they went through in training and such─and he gave a simple thumbs up as he stood, stretching it out so it wouldn’t tense out. Ben had his hands on Klaus’ arm and watched him carefully, occasionally shooting glares at the fighting duo.

“I can’t believe Luther didn’t even notice you slamming into that dumb statue,” Ben hissed softly, as Klaus stopped stretching.

“Yea, it be like that sometimes.” He merely shrugged, and turned to look back at the fight─

“Diego, no!”  _ That’s _ a sharp object that flew right past Klaus’ ear, alright, regular day, regular day, nothing to see here folks─  _ Ben, shut up, it’s fine! _

The metallic sound of a knife hitting the wall could be heard while Luther clutched at his left arm, panting heavily─Diego the same. They stood there for what was only minutes, before Luther huffed and passed Diego to go back into the mansion, probably to patch up the wound he got from the knife. Vanya, their resident pacifist, walked up to Diego with a fierce tone.

“You never know when to stop, do you?” Her gaze searched his face, looking for anything, any sort of emotion on his face.

He simply curled his lip, regarding her with a distrusting emotion. “You got enough material for your sequel yet?” And that’s what makes her take a step back, hurt flooding her face before it slammed shut.

“He was my father too.” was pushed out, soft, but strong.

She walked away, exiting the courtyard, leaving only Diego, Mom, Klaus, Ben, and Five (who had suddenly appeared next to him somehow? When’d he even move?).

Allison followed after Luther left, it seemed. Neither Diego or Five made a move when Klaus turned to the space left of him where Ben was, giving a pained chuckle. 

“Well, that was… an eventful funeral, wouldn’t ya say, Benny?”

Subtle enough, he thinks, when Diego’s face only seemed to scrunch up as he walked to Mom, taking her hand gently and leading her inside. Now, it was only him, Ben and Five─

“Ben’s here?” Oh, hi Five.

Klaus leveled him with a “duh” look, gesturing at himself (ignoring the pain). “Yes darling baby bro, please reacquaint yourself with your fabulous medium brother, the one that can talk to the dead!” He gave a show of jazz hands,  _ absolutely _ ignoring how Ben just slapped his forehead with the biggest facepalm he’s ever seen out of the corner of his eye (also the  _ only _ facepalm he’s ever seen out of the corner of his eye).

Five, to his credit, just took it at face value.

“Vanya’s book said that you were a junkie, but I don’t see any signs of it now.” It wasn’t a question, but the subtext was enough for him.

“Meh,” he shrugged. “Things can change in two years.”

Okay, so the irritated glower he got from Ben was admittedly deserved, because he rarely thought about his words before he said them and Five had been gone for seventeen  forty-five years. What could he say? Hindsight’s twenty-twenty.

If Klaus’ words had any effect on Five, he didn’t show it. He just shrugged and seemed to accept the answer, turning to Klaus’ left, a somewhat softer demeanor replacing his nonchalant one from before.

“Ben, if you’re here…” he paused, lips twitching. “Thank you.”

The rueful expression that appears on Ben’s face is just a little too much for Klaus as he says “of course”, and drew himself to attention as Five changes his gaze to him.

“And you, Klaus. Thank you.”

And a part of him wanted to ask “what for” jokingly and point out that the only thing he should be thanked for is his awesome fashion sense, but the situation was a bit too personal for that, so he simply shrugged his shoulders again, this time more sincerely (if that makes sense). 

“Sure, Five-y.”

“Hm.” Oh, that’s Five’s contemplative look, also known has his scheming look. In the past, it usually meant he had a plan to sneak out somehow to get more games for them─but this seemed a bit less volatile and a lot more genuinely thoughtful.

Five pondered for a moment, before looking up, a smirk present as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his Umbrella Academy trousers.

“Call me Aiden.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, confession time: I totally had a plan for how this was going to end and how to get to that, but I started to get ideas, and now I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing with the middle part, so we're winging it and writing as we go!  
> Because of that, I beg forgiveness for any mistakes I may have made- but thanks again for reading!


	3. NOT A CHAPTER #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WILL BE DELETED WHEN CHAPTER 3 COMES OUT!

Hey kiddos!! Just here to tell y'all that chapters 1 and 2 have been updated, so give those a read!! I think Chapter 3 will be out be the time of next week or the week after, so I hope you guys can wait a little bit longer! Toodles!


End file.
